Akai SynthStation49 dock / giant keyboard combo is less portable than its predecessor
January 13, 2011 No Comment
You may or may not be familiar with Akai ‘s previous iPad dock / keyboard combo, the SynthStation. The thing is, the original SynthStation’s keyboard was miniature, and the dock was designed for the iPhone — presumably so that it was simultaneously portable. Well, the new Akai SynthStation49 adds a full keyboard, though it obviously loses that portability. Regardless, the SynthStation49 packs nine MPC-style pads, dedicated pitch and mod wheels, and transport controls. The internal audio boasts 1/4-inch outputs, and the hardware is MIDI supporting, so you can use the keyboard as a MIDI input device. This one is currently awaiting certification from Apple, so we can’t say when it’ll be released, nor do we have pricing. Hit up the source link for more details. Akai SynthStation49 dock / giant keyboard combo is less portable than its predecessor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …RIM’s WebWorks SDK: make apps compatible with both PlayBook and BlackBerry 6
January 13, 2011 No Comment
RIM’s adding yet more incentive for developers to give its PlayBook tablet a chance. The company’s just launched a beta of WebWorks SDK, a collection of tools that lets you package up your web applications, with access to the hardware capabilities, as apps compatible with both the PlayBook and BlackBerry 6 smartphone devices. RIM also released a handful of new SDKs and extended the free PlayBook offer to March 15th. If you’re the sort who dreams in binary, hit up the relevant links below. RIM’s WebWorks SDK: make apps compatible with both PlayBook and BlackBerry 6 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 12:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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International jet-set elite, your new phone is here! That’s right, Vertu and Ferrari have teamed up yet again to produce the phone that serves two important purposes: showing the world that you own a Ferrari, and showing the world that you don’t need a phone that does much besides receiving calls from your accountant. Essentially the recently announced Ascent refresh , this bad boy features a 2-inch QVGA sapphire crystal display and quadband 3G. The case itself is constructed from forged titanium with a matte black PVD finish and the same hand stitched leather as the interior of the car it’s inspired by. But you better be fast! Only 2,011 will be made. (Get it?) Hit the source link to order three or four for yourself. [Thanks, James] Vertu Ascent Ti Ferrari is a celebration of extreme self-indulgence originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Things look to finally start to get interesting with hardware selection on MetroPCS’ LTE network — a network that still offers nothing more than the Samsung Craft dumbphone to tame those wild 4G speeds several months after the commercial launch. The latest leak here is for a device allegedly called the Forte — also from Samsung, naturally — that features a sliding landscape keyboard along with a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 5 megapixel camera, and Android 2.2 at launch, all specs that would suggest this might be a Galaxy S -branded device. What we don’t know is whether the Forte is the same as the SCH-R910 that was leaked for MetroPCS a few days ago; Samsung Hub ‘s tipster claims there are two LTE devices in the pipeline here, so they could be different (perhaps one with a keyboard, one without) even though the tops are identical at a glance. Samsung Forte Android phone with LTE for MetroPCS leaked? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Samsung has outed three new netbooks , all refreshes to previous models. On offer is the 10.1-inch NC210, which boasts a dual-core, Intel Atom N550 CPU with up to 3GB of DDR3 SDRAM, a 250GB hard drive, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, LAN, and Bluetooth 3.0. It’s also got a VGA port, three USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, and a 6-cell battery. The company has also trotted out the NC110, which boasts a 1.5GHz, dual-core Atom N570 but seems to be identical to the NC210 other than that. In other, rather less exciting Samsung netbook news, the company also rolled out the NF310, and the NS310, the former one being an LTE -packing 10.1-incher, while the NS310 is yet another netbook of the same size with a metallic chassis. There aren’t full specs, pricing or availability yet for any of these models, but you can hit up the source links for more photos. Samsung refreshes netbooks with dual-core NC210, among others originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’re at IBM’s HQ in upstate NY, where IBM will pit its monstrous Watson project (in the middle buzzer spot) against two Jeopardy greats, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. Watson has been in development for four years, and this is its first big public practice match before it goes on national TV in February for three matches against these giants of trivia. Unlike IBM’s Deep Blue chess project in the 90s, which was pretty much pure math, Watson has to deal with the natural language and punny nature of real Jeopardy questions. IBM, ever the salesman, has thrown gobs of its fancy server hardware at the project, with 10 racks full of IBM Power 750 servers, stuffed with 15 terabytes of RAM and 2,880 processor operating at a collective 80 teraflops. IBM says it would take one CPU over two hours to answer a typical question, so this massive parallel processing is naturally key — hopefully fast enough to buzz in before Ken and Brad catch on to the human-oriented questioning. We’ll update this post as the match begins, and we’ll have some video for you later in the day. Continue reading IBM demonstrates Watson supercomputer in Jeopardy practice match IBM demonstrates Watson supercomputer in Jeopardy practice match originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Centrafuse leads to iPhone control via touchscreen, carputer dreams come to life (video)
January 13, 2011 No Comment
We’ve seen countless individuals integrate their phone, PMP or tablet into their whip, but for years, we’ve all been thinking the same thing: “There has to be an easier way.” Turns out, there is. One Mr. Romin has seemingly unearthed the solution, which involves a Lilliput FA1042 touchpanel, a Belkin AV dock adapter cable and a critical piece of software by the name of Centrafuse. Working in conjunction, he has enabled his monitor to actually control the iPhone, and when firing up a YouTube video, the content plays back on the big screen while the controls remain visible on the handset. It’s a nifty setup, for sure, and we’re downright excited to see this rig get installed in a vehicle far too small for American roads in a fortnight or so. For now, catch it working in action just past the break. Continue reading Centrafuse leads to iPhone control via touchscreen, carputer dreams come to life (video) Centrafuse leads to iPhone control via touchscreen, carputer dreams come to life (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 10:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …NZXT Bunker keeps your USB peripherals secure, even at dodgy LAN parties
January 13, 2011 No Comment
So, here’s the situation: you roll into a LAN party in a less-than-ideal section of town. The lights are dim, the bouncer looks suspect, and Mike Tyson’s tiger is situated there in the rear of the room. Even the Ethernet cables are grimy. Everyone’s got their eyes on you and your new Alienware, and that stash of Razer peripherals just feels ripe for the taking. You aren’t about to make a beeline back to your Daewoo, so you wrap each and every USB cable around your right arm just to make sure you go home with everything you came with. Sadly enough, that’s not exactly an awesome way to trample your nearby enemies, but it seems that NZXT has a delightful solution. The company’s new Bunker USB Locking Drive is designed to fit within a spare 5.25-inch slot in whatever tower you own, offering a foursome of USB 2.0 sockets and a potent, daunting locking mechanism. The idea here is that your webcam, mouse, keyboard and USB headset can be plugged in, and you can keep your mind at ease that nothing is going anywhere when you waltz over to the restroom. Unfortunately, critics over at Overclocks Online noticed that the shallow depth prevented all but the smallest of flash drives from fitting in, further proving that this thing is designed specifically for use with PC peripherals. Hit the links below to learn more, and get ready to shell out $24.99 come March if it’s something you’re into. Continue reading NZXT Bunker keeps your USB peripherals secure, even at dodgy LAN parties NZXT Bunker keeps your USB peripherals secure, even at dodgy LAN parties originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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So what’s this all about? Oh, just the BlackBerry Dakota which we heard about back in July , and which definitely seems to be real. This one, pictured above in a photo procured by BGR , looks like it’s going to boast that up top 2.8-inch (VGA resolution) capacitive touchscreen we’d heard about, with the BlackBerry Bold -style keyboard you’ve come to know and love below. Yes, this ‘Berry is quite attractive in the looks department, and spec-wise, it’s a quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE device with tri-band UMTS. It also packs a 5 megapixel cam with HD video recording, 4GB of storage, plus 768MB of RAM. The phone will also have WiFi and be 3G hotspot-enabled, and it’ll run BlackBerry OS 6.1. Like we said, from the looks of it, this thing is legit, but there’s no word on pricing or availability as of yet. BlackBerry Dakota photo, specifications leak originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Thermo Mirror measures body temperature, gives us something else to stare at
January 13, 2011 No Comment
As good looking as we are — and you know we are — we sometimes get tired of staring into the mirror. Honestly, aside from reminding us of our resemblance to a young Sean Connery, the standard mirror really doesn’t do much, but the Thermo Mirror is another story. The device, designed by Japanese electronics firm NEC/Avio, uses an infrared sensor to measure an onlooker’s temperature from up to 30 centimeters (about 1 foot) away, without physical contact . The subject’s temperature appears on the mirror’s surface, and, if they have a fever, an alarm sounds. Thermo Mirror is available in two versions and costs between 98,000 and 120,000 yen (or $1,180 and $1,440). When not in use, its face displays date, time, humidity, and temperature. Now if it could just make us a martini — shaken, not stirred, of course. Thermo Mirror measures body temperature, gives us something else to stare at originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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